The National Wrestling Alliance will be holding their 77th Anniversary Show on Saturday night at the Paramount in Huntington, NY with challenge Joe Ocasio hoping that he can ride his hometown wave to victory and title glory over Television Champion Bryan Idol. Ocasio, a veteran who has conquered challenges both in and out of the ring, knows the importance of Saturday’s match and how it can help the NWA and his own legacy, given the importance of the night.
“It’s a lot of things coming to fruition all at once,” said Ocasio about the event. “Sometimes reality is crazier than fiction. Bryan Idol and I go back a long time. He’s also from Long Island as well. I’m born and raised in East Meadow but I spent a lot of time in Huntington. The Paramount is one of the most known locations in Long Island. There’s been so many incredibly popular acts that have been there. From bands to different sports figures.”
Ocasio is hoping to add his name the the legacy of the Paramount by lifting the NWA Television Championship. A title that has a history that goes far beyond the current version of NWA, which started in 2018 with the purchase by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan. The title was revived in January of 2020 following a tournament headlined by Ricky Starks versus future NWA Champion Trevor Murdoch.
Now, after five years of activity, Ocasio has a chance to etch his name into the NWA history. For a wrestler like Ocasio, it is a journey that has led him to a major point, where a chance at a championship like this may have seemed unattainable in recent years.
“It’s almost hard to process,” said Ocasio when speaking about the importance of the match. “In a lot of ways for me, it’s true validation. To do it at home, in the place that I grew up, where they told me I couldn’t… Obviously the NWA title is the world title but the TV title… in a lot of ways, we can argue about importance, but it stands out. The design of the championship, the amount of talent that have had that championship and to be the workhorse champion. To have the opportunity to become that, against the guy that I’m very connected with over all these years, in a lot of ways we built a section of Long Island wrestling together.”
The NWA 77th Anniversary may be anchored by a local match-up between Ocasio and Idol for the Television Championship but it is far more than that. The organization has stretched out, looking to make its mark in an area normally dominated by bit market wrestling companies like WWE or AEW. Most recently, TNA wrestling ran Slammiversary on Long Island, showing that there is hunger for something other than the usual product. Now, NWA hopes to deliver on a new flavor of wrestling. Something that Ocasio knows there is a hunger for amongst the fans in the New York market.
“Long Island has very, very, very passionate fans,” said Ocasio. “What you’re going to get from the NWA that you don’t see around is is those three letters (National Wrestling Alliance). The history and enormity of professional wrestling. 77 years, that is an incredible marker. Thanks to Billy Corgan for seeing a vision in the original wrestling company.”
NWA 77th Anniversary will take place on Saturday August 16th, at the Paramount in Huntington, NY. Full card below:
NWA World Championship: Thom Latimer (c) vs. Thrillbilly Silas Mason
NWA World Women’s Championship: Kenzie Page (c) vs. Natalia Markova
NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Alex Taylor (c) vs. Rich Swann
NWA World Tag Team Championship: Knox & Murdoch (c) vs. EC3 & Pretty Boy Smooth
NWA World Television Championship: Bryan Idol (c) vs. Joe Ocasio
NWA Women’s World Television Championship: Tiffany Nieves (c) vs. Sirena Evil
Hammerstone vs. Kerry Morton
and more
